There are several distinct methods presently employed for manufacturing shoes. Two known shoe constructions are the flat lasted cemented or "California process" shoe, and the goodyear welt shoe. In each, the shoe is constructed by first sewing an upper to an insole bottom piece, and then attaching the insole to the outsole.
In California process shoes, the insole is cut from a material which is capable of being glued. The shoe upper is attached to the outsole by gluing the insole piece directly to the outsole. In goodyear welt shoes, a welt is sewn or glued to the insole piece, and the outsole is in turn stitched to the welt.
A third and entirely different shoe construction is that of a hand sewn or true moc shoe. Unlike a California process or goodyear welt shoe, a true moc shoe does not contain an insole piece attached to a shoe upper. Instead, a vamp is cut out and shaped to form both the bottom and sides of the upper, and is sewn directly onto the sole using a littleway stitch. The present invention relates to a shoe of this latter construction, i.e., hand sewn shoes.
It is well known that a shoe can be made more comfortable to wear by providing a cushion insert. Often this is done by inserting a cushion pad into the finished shoe so as to be disposed between the insole piece (or the vamp bottom in true moc shoes) and the foot of the wearer. Such cushioned sole pads have several evident drawbacks. They are prone to dislodge when inserting or removing the foot from the shoe. The pad may tear or bend. Such cushion pads may also tend to slide around when worn.
California process shoes are known in which a cushioning pad is retained in the shoe in a different manner. A cushioning pad is sandwiched between two pieces of insole material. This self-contained cushion sandwich, with the two insole pieces, is sewn to the upper in place of the normal single insole piece. The added insole piece, which is disposed on the lower side of the cushioning pad, is then glued to the outsole in the normal manner.